come anticipate Miranda Lambert's new double album The Weight of These Wings

basically love every song on this except for "way too pretty for prison" which could've spent a little more time in the song incubator

as an album it's a little all over the place and weirdly-paced like platinum and revolution, which are two excellent albums so i'm not exactly complaining

she's the goat

Best of the decade.

Way to pretty for prison surprised me - it’s markedly inferior to Stripes by Brandy Clark.

It's on par with Goodbye Earl.

“Pretty Bitchin’” is such an awesome personal anthem.

listened this morning. first impression: seems to get better in the second half. some of the uptempo or rockier ones were misses but the ballads were uniformly good, some truly great

I was not expecting "Track Record" to sound like New Order!

Closer to Tom Petty to my ears (and "Mess With My Head"!).

re "Dark Bars" this seems right

it's a really gentle production for such a sad song and more texturally interesting than it lets on at first

― J0rdan S., Thursday, November 7, 2019 4:01 AM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

what strikes me in particular is the restraint of her singing. Compare it with "Over You", for instance, where she sings "you went away" big & loud to express her loss. "Dark Bars" communicates in subtler ways, through her twangs, through her enunciation of words with the letter "r" throughout (in "bars", "lifeguard", "hearts", "hard"): soft, almost mushy? but broken? it's mesmerizing me.

What fascinates me about her evolution is how she saves the sentimentality for the rockers while her ballads are getting more fatalistic and in some cases terrifying -- her vocal choices, that is.

I'll have to give this another listen, because on my first try it sounded just OK but nothing particularly special (at least not the way "The Weight of These Wings" popped out at me).

yes her vocal choices are fascinating. just listening to "Track Record" and "Dark Bars" over and over and over again.

"Dark Bars" is a Liz Rose co-write, I just learned.

as is "Track Record"

the little documentary on apple music about this album is not incredibly insightful but it does have some good video

I don't have the gene that lets me enjoy some of the shtickier upbeat songs but the closing stretch is killer

Finally listening to this now. If I could make one plea to the gods of modern pop country it would be this: please make the guitar solos sound more like James Burton (or at least Eddy Shaver) and less like CC Deville. Brad Paisley is probably the only guy from this generation of country stars who understands the role guitar should play in this music. Half of the (admittedly unnecessary) solo breaks here sound like Dial MTV circa 1988.

I like "White Trash," "It All Comes Out In The Wash," and "Track Record," but some of these songs sound like cuts Pat Benatar would have given the gas face, and I don't remember thinking that about any of her previous albums.

The Bon Jovification of so much contemporary country doesn't always leave a lot of room for chicken-pickin' and guitar twang.

hmm, you make a point there

I like most of the solos *shrug*. I've heard worse on Eric Church's The Outsiders.

I take your point about Paisley, though. And Jason Isbell does fine work on The Highwomen album.

not important question: why does she cut out the two utterances of the word "pretty" in the last verse? just for fun? or am i missing a reference or a joke?

Of "Pretty Bitchin'"? I assume just cuz it sounds cool?

yeah, sorry i forgot the song title

sounds cool, just seems weird! but i guess identifying that kind of thing is what makes her Miranda Lambert

this woman is an all-time genius

What a wonderful album this is.

Yup, very much so.

Pink Sunglasses one of my alltime favorite songs now & yeah the whole album is terrific.

new song is incredible

meanwhile “bluebird” has basically become one of her biggest songs ever... she’s not going away, and the industry hasn’t left her behind. i never get tired of hearing it either, it’s pretty close to a perfect song. “i turn pages all the time / don’t like where i’m at, 34 was bad / so i just turned to 35” ... been thinking about this one a lot lately

i will also ride hard for wildcard ... it’s kinda self evidently inferior to its two predecessors but completely stands on its own two feet to me. i still play it all the time ... “tequila does” is my favorite song ever written

pretty beautiful, this new song. intrigued about the album.

i never got around to giving wildcard a spin but i def should. honestly, might as well revisit the weight of these wings lol

she put out a song w/ elle king recently, i wasn't feeling it much but maybe it'll grow on me as/if i hear it more

wait, what's the new song??

https://images.app.goo.gl/Gp3QijuBjwrjTwyt8

Announcing The Marfa Tapes
A project by Jack Ingram, Jon Randall and me. Recorded in Marfa, TX. They’re raw. You can hear the wind blowing, the cows mooing... We wanted you to feel like you were right there with us, sitting around the campfire, escaping the world, disappearing into the music. The first song “In His Arms” is out now. Full album arrives May 7th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUrukGC8TQA

These three wrote "Tin Man" together, btw

i whittled wildcard down to ten songs and i listen to it all the time. a very underrated album

i love Wildcard

Looks like the Marfa Tapes is digital/vinyl only so far, which surprises me a little.

heard it a few hours ago, it's nice.

Is he playing in some house band in Dallas?
Is he breaking horses in San Anton?
Is he all alone in the neon light?
I wish I was in his arms tonight

Is he praying for rain out in West Texas?
Is he lost in the Marfa lights?
Is he out there looking for me
Wishing I was in his arms tonight

perfect lyrics

These three wrote "Tin Man" together, btw

oh wow, excellent to know

and more importantly they wrote “tequila does”

“in his arms” is exactly the kind of simplicity that i think is really hard to get right & she just fkn nails it like it came to her all in a dream or something

she does it a lot & it never stops being impressive

<3 miranda! so much!

new song is great

"use my heart" once again casually destroying me today

New Marfa Tapes single up on streaming platforms. "Tin Man."

Also here's the vinyl preorder link, fyi
https://store.mirandalambert.com/collections/the-marfa-tapes/products/the-marfa-tapes-vinyl

3rd single out

https://open.spotify.com/track/3u0MjJXsTyTJnpK9H7LeKA?si=b8bc8bd44c694100

Another song, "Anchor":

https://ml.lnk.to/themarfatapes

“Homegrown Tomatoes” off the Marfa album is the funniest thing, I love it so much

whole album is an excellent mood, really feels like you are sitting right next to them

yesss